Great Khali set for Bhojpuri film

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Several Indian superstars have lent their charisma to Bhojpuri movies over the years. Adding to the list of the illustrious actors is another heavyweight, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champion Dalip Singh Rana aka Great Khali, who is all set to bring the modern avatar of traditional wrestling to the cow-belt cinema screen.

Bhojpuri superstar Manoj Tiwari 'Mridul', who struck a good rapport with Khali while they were co-participants in the popular reality show Bigg Boss Season Four last year, has invited the WWE champ to act in one of his forthcoming films. Tiwari made this offer to Khali at the latter's native place in Himachal Pradesh, where he had gone recently to perform at Khali's request.

Tiwari's publicist Shashikant Singh said Khali, who has acted in five Hollywood and two Bollywood movies so far, was considering the Bhojpuri film offer. "So far, he has neither accepted nor declined the offer," Singh said. "Tiwari had offered him a Bhojpuri film last year too, but Khali left for the US immediately after coming out of the Bigg Boss house," he added.

It was only after Khali's return to India for celebrating Diwali at his village late last month that Tiwari was able to meet him and renew the film offer.

Tiwari, widely credited with having revived the moribund Bhojpuri film industry with his 2003 mega hit Sasura Bada Paisewala, said he was invited by Khali to perform at a religious function in his village. "I readily accepted the invitation," the singer-turnedactor said.

Tiwari said Khali, his family and the villagers extended a warm welcome to him. "It was an emotional moment when Khali hugged me and took me around his village," he said, adding: "I did not know that the villagers knew me well. But they said they loved Khali and me in Bigg Boss."

The Bhojpuri superstar, who was evicted from the reality show much before Khali, said he had invited Khali to his ancestral village (Atarwalia in Kaimur district), where he was building a temple for Indian cricketers such as M. S. Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar to commemorate Team India's victory in the World Cup earlier this year.

"Now he will visit my village. I have invited him to inaugurate the cricketers' temple," Tiwari said, adding that Khali and he had many things in common. "We have both risen from humble, rural backgrounds," he said. "We have struggled hard before achieving success in our respective fields," he added.

Tiwari, who had taken sweets from Varanasi as gift for Khali, said the international celebrity had gone to his village in Himachal Pradesh to celebrate Diwali for the first time since joining the WWE 10 years ago. Praising Khali as a person, Tiwari said: "He is an extremely polite man despite his international success. He remains cool... as he had demonstrated in the Bigg Boss house."

He said he had tried making Khali sing a Bhojpuri song during their Bigg Boss days and he had "sung it well, like a true sport". Tiwari added: "But the Bhojpuri film fans will love him more if he accepts the offer to act in one of the forthcoming movies."

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